Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails called 'pins' and had hollows or pockets which scored points if the ball came to rest in them. Today, pinball is most commonly an arcade game in which the ball is fired into a specially designed cabinet known as a pinball machine, hitting various lights, bumpers, ramps, and other targets depending on its design. The game's object is generally to score as many points as possible by hitting these targets and making various shots with flippers before the ball is lost. Most pinball machines use one ball per turn, and the game ends when the ball(s) from the last turn are lost. The biggest pinball machine manufacturers historically include Bally Manufacturing, Gottlieb, Williams Electronics and Stern Pinball.
Gottlieb was an American arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is best known for creating a vast line of pinball machines and arcade games throughout much of the 20th century.
Chicago Coin was one of the early major manufacturers of pinball tables founded in Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in 1932 by Samuel H. Gensburg and Samuel Wolberg to operate in the coin-operated amusement industry. In 1977, Gary Stern and Sam Stern purchased the assets of the Chicago Coin Machine Division as it was then called to found Stern Electronics, Inc. They also produced various arcade games during the 1960s to 1970s.
Mirco Games was a pinball and arcade game manufacturer from Phoenix, Arizona that existed from 1969 to 1978. They were originally called Arizona Automation from 1969 to 1973 and then changed their name to Mirco in 1974. They created the first microprocessor-based pinball table, The Spirit of '76 in 1975. They also copyrighted the name "Champion Soccer" They first imported then from Germany, then in 1971 they started manufacturing their own.
The Spirit of '76 was the first microprocessor-based pinball table. It was released by Mirco Games, Inc. in July 4 1975. The pinball machine should not be confused with the pinball machine Spirit of 76 by Gottlieb.
A glossary of terms, commonly used in discussing pinball machines.
Black Hole is a pinball game released in 1981 by Gottlieb. It is notable for having two playfields: one on top with a conventional slope, and one mounted underneath, sloping away from the player. It has no connection with the 1979 film of the same name.
Haunted House is a pinball game released in October 31 1982 by Gottlieb. It was the first game with three playfields that the ball can move between, including one below the main playing surface. Haunted House was designed by John Osborne, with artwork by Terry Doerzaph. It is part of Gottlieb’s “System 80” series of pinball machines.
Judge Dredd is a four-player pinball game produced by Bally Manufacturing in 1993, based on the British comic strip Judge Dredd in 2000 AD. Nearly 7,000 were made.
Tee'd Off is a pinball machine designed by Ray Tanzer and Jon Norris and released by Gottlieb in May 1993.
Harley-Davidson is a Sega Pinball pinball machine released in September 1999 and was the last machine released by this company. It was designed by Jon Borg and Lonnie D. Ropp.
Genie is a widebody pinball machine designed by Ed Krynski and released in 1979 by Gottlieb. It features a jinn theme and was advertised with the slogans "Gottlieb's WIDE and Beautiful BODY" and "A Wide-Body Pinball absolutely bulging with player appeal and proven massive profit earning capacity!".
Flight 2000 is a 1980 Stern widebody pinball machine. It was the first table by this company with speech. The theme of the game revolves around futuristic space flight.
Goin' Nuts is a pinball machine that was designed by Adolf Seitz, Jr. for Gottlieb in 1983. The game never went into production and only 10 prototypes were built.
Cue Ball Wizard is a pinball machine designed by Jon Norris and released in December 18 1992 by Gottlieb. It features a cue sports theme and was advertised with the slogan "Gottlieb Presents CUE BALL WIZARD!".
El Dorado City of Gold is a pinball machine designed by Ed Krynski and released in 1984 by Gottlieb. The game features an El Dorado adventure theme.
Slick Chick is a single player wedge head pinball machine designed by Wayne Neyens and released by Gottlieb in January 27, 1963. It features a Playboy influenced theme.
Play-Boy is a pinball machine released by Gottlieb in 1932. The game features a card gambling theme. It should not be confused with several other pinball machines with the name Playboy as from Rally Play Company, Bally, Data East and Stern.
Frank Thomas' Big Hurt is a pinball machine designed by Bill Parker and released by Gottlieb in 1995. The game features a baseball theme and is named after Frank Thomas.
